1
$\begingroup$

I'm having trouble understanding how these wings might work. Are they somehow folded or bent by 90 degrees so that part of the wing is vertical and part is horizontal to be more compact?

If so, how mechanically are they then made quickly more rigid and straight each time it enters flight, which should be fast to avoid being eaten?

Also, I'm guessing this is some kind of moth, but I have no idea. I don't really need an exact species ID, but some classification guidance would be appreciated!

This individual is about 2 cm long, and was seen recently (late July) in Taipei, on a hot, sunny day.

Is this a moth? How do these wings unfold?

Is this a moth? How do these wings unfold?

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
11
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ moths don't have 2 wings they have 4 wings, the forewings and hindwings are just being held apart in this image. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/External_morphology_of_Lepidoptera $\endgroup$
    – John
    Commented Jul 29, 2018 at 3:05
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Yes definitely a moth, although I have no idea what the species is. You could ask for identification as a separate question. just be sure to include the last sentence of the post, where it is found is very helpful. $\endgroup$
    – John
    Commented Jul 29, 2018 at 3:35
  • 5
    $\begingroup$ Not a moth. It is a skipper. Family Hesperiidae. davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/5254 $\endgroup$
    – Karl Kjer
    Commented Jul 29, 2018 at 12:17
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ I'd be prepared to guess genus Telicota also known as the Palm Darts. $\endgroup$
    – bob1
    Commented Jun 4, 2021 at 9:23
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Uhoh, thanks to @KarlKjer for pointing in the right direction. I just put Hesperiidae into google and found the wikimedia page and browsed through for something similar to your photo, then did a bit more searching based on that. I think the vietnam link you provided looks like a dead-ringer for your photo. Seems the ID is all around the wing patterns, so very hard to do to species from a couple of photos. $\endgroup$
    – bob1
    Commented Jun 4, 2021 at 10:13

0

Reset to default

You must log in to answer this question.

Browse other questions tagged .